that is indeed a very interesting fable, with many interpretations. Bruno Bettleheim made a psychoanalitic interpretation that underlines the sexual meanings in the sub-text. The red of the riding hood is a metaphor of menstruation while the dark woods is the fear of sexuality that newly flowered girls have, and of course the wolf represents the man, whose attitude towards sex is akin to that of a predator.Someone also pointed that in the age from which this tale comes from, red capes were oft worn by prostitutes, and an early version points out that well-mannered girls should never give confidence to strangers, because some of them are hungry wolves that hide behind the mask of kindness. Namely, it was one version of the tale in which Red Riding Hood was not saved by the woodcutter or hunter that kills the wolf, she just dies like that.